The Department of Psychology provides the opportunity for degrees at the BA, MA, and at the PsyD level. The program offers opportunities for students to apply their classroom knowledge to a variety of real-world situations. Hands-on laboratory experiences give students a chance to design and conduct their own experiments. In the psychology major and its associated service offerings, the program strives for currency in the presentation of theoretical approaches, scientific research, and scholarship. Through emphasis on critical thinking and research methods, the Psychology Department seeks to foster a capacity for lifelong learning. By increasing the student's awareness of the human component in various social, industrial, and professional areas, the program serves to instill a responsible orientation to the application of psychological knowledge toward the betterment of the human condition.

The BA in psychology provides a broad understanding and appreciation of the field of psychology as a multifaceted discipline with both scientific and humanistic aspects. In addition to the mastery of specific course content, the program seeks to develop the student's ability to think critically about issues in the field. Moreover, the program is designed to help students: (1) integrate their knowledge of psychology with concepts and research from related disciplines, and (2) discover opportunities for application of knowledge in psychology to the solution of human problems. The program serves as preparation for graduate study in psychology or in such areas as law, social work, and public administration. In addition, the program prepares students for entry into bachelor's level careers.

Psychology is the study of mental activities and behaviors that can be applied to the betterment of a wide range of other disciplines. The minor program in psychology is designed to allow students to explore critical topics and ideas in psychology in an easily adaptable format. With hundreds of course offerings each year in more than 60 subject areas and sub-disciplines of the field, students have the capacity to select areas of interest and explore them deeply. In addition, the program seeks to develop the student's ability to think critically about concepts and research in psychology and its application to the solution of human problems.

The master's program in clinical and counseling psychology prepares students for the professional practice of counseling, assessment, and/or mental health research. The curriculum provides a solid grounding in both theories and interventions that can be applied to a wide variety of mental health, academic, and research settings. We emphasize professional competency, ethical responsibility, cultural competency, self-awareness, and current body of knowledge in the scientific, methodological and theoretical foundations of practice. Our program expects students to become compassionate and caring scientist-practitioners with motivation to continue learning and furthering their development throughout their professional careers. The program requires the student to submit either a comprehensive master's project (in which he or she presents a clinical project in writing and integrates relevant empirical, theoretical, social, ethical, cultural, diagnostic, and therapeutic issues in the discussion) or a research project that makes an original contribution to the literature.

The doctoral program (PsyD) in clinical psychology is a practitioner-scholar oriented program that provides a direct route for students who hold a bachelor's degree in psychology to pursue advanced studies and obtain a master's in clinical and counseling psychology and a doctorate in clinical psychology. When a student enrolls in the PsyD program, he or she will study in a small community of peers and mentors, and will have the opportunity to get training in empirically based treatments and interventions taught by outstanding faculty with diverse interests in both clinical practice and research. The program offers individualized attention and state-of-the-art facilities in our Science Complex, which has clinical, teaching, and research facilities, in addition to a new psychology clinical training suite that features recording and monitoring capabilities. A dedicated graduate student study suite is available for work and study and for developing a sense of community.

BA in Psychology Individuals with a bachelor's degree in psychology often possess good research and writing skills, are good problem solvers, and have well-developed, higher-level thinking abilities when it comes to analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information. Many find jobs in administrative support, public affairs, education, business, sales, service industries, health, the biological sciences, and computer programming. They may also work as employment counselors, correction counselor trainees, interviewers, personnel analysts, probation officers, and writers.

MA in Clinical and Counseling Psychology Those with a master's degree in psychology often work under the direction of a doctoral psychologist, especially in clinical, counseling, school and testing, and measurement psychology. Some jobs in the industry—for example, in organizational development and survey research—are held by both doctoral- and master's-level graduates. In general, industry and government jobs that focus on compensation, training, data analysis, and general personnel issues are often filled by those with master's degrees in psychology.

PsyD in Clinical Psychology Individuals with a doctorate in psychology are trained for excellent critical thinking, assessment, analytical, and writing skills. After graduation, clinical psychologists often work at universities, with hospitals or in other human services, outpatient clinics, and primary care offices or community health centers. Additional areas of common employment include government/VA medical center settings, business/nonprofit settings, and independent clinical practices.

Department Spotlight

Psychology major, Michelle LeGrand '16 created "Doodles and Dots," a non-profit art program for fourth through sixth graders in Paterson designed to reduce stress and improve interpersonal and team-building skills. She is now pursuing a dual master's in art therapy and mental health counseling.